Hospitalised mum slams attack pair’s sentences

A MOTHER-OF-TWO hospitalised by her neighbours in a row over DIY noise has condemned their sentences as a “joke”.

Kelly White, 34, was left with two black eyes and concussion after being attacked in her stairwell as she left to attend her son’s birthday celebrations.The former gym instructor had been locked in a long-running feud with neighbours Terry Paul, 55, and Suzanne Adamson, 48, over noise arising from her flat refurbishment.

But the row turned violent in July last year when the pair beat her to the ground outside her home in West Drylaw Drive.

Today, Ms White hit out at the fines meted out to Paul and Adamson following their convictions at a two-day trial at ­Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

She said: “This is a big a kick in the stomach. I’m disgusted. It’s a total joke. They have taken the life out of me.” Ms White also claims the ­attack had destroyed her confidence and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Appearing for sentencing yesterday, the pair were fined a total of £750.

Ms White, who gave evidence from behind a screen because she was too fearful to face her attackers, said she had been “failed by the justice system”.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how Paul had been suspended from his job as a scaffolder in the wake of his conviction. Paul, 56, who now works in the Aberdeenshire area, will find out if he still has employment next week.

Social work reports said the couple – who have now sold their home in West Drylaw Drive – were at “low risk” of ­offending again.

Adamson’s defence agent Ian Tweedie said the 48-year-old “remained distraught” at her conviction.

He said: “The property [in Drylaw] was something that was dear to her but she’s had to sell that and move away from the area. She’s in full-time employment and works Saturdays and Sundays, looking after her granddaughter.”

Sheriff Alistair Noble fined Adamson £250, insisting the sentence was fair “given her lack of previous convictions”. Paul was set to face a £1250 fine but the sheriff delayed ­issuing the penalty until his employment status was clear.

Sheriff Noble deferred sentence on Paul who was told to bring £500 with him to court on March 6.

He said he would consider giving him a community payback order if he did lose his job.

The trial heard how Paul and Adamson confronted Ms White in the stairwell as she went to collect cigarettes for her ex-husband who was waiting in a car outside with their two children. The family had been about to drive to Cramond for a barbecue to mark their son’s birthday.

But when Ms White entered the stairwell of the housing complex she faced a tirade of abuse from her neighbours before Adamson punched her. She was then repeatedly struck by the pair.